by André Depienne

After graduating from high-school in 1968, Tom Petty went to college where he founded his first band The Sundowners which would later be changed to Epics and then in 1970, Mudcrutch.

They soon became popular in the local music scene and often performed with another upcoming band, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Mudcrutch created their own specific style of music by combining the influence of British bands with those of Californian bands like The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and the Flying Burrito Brothers. In 1974 they signed their first record deal.

Petty's real breakthrough came in 1976, when he founded Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and released the band's self-titled debut album.

Over the years they released another six successful studio albums and one live album. In 1999 they earned a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and in 2002 they were accepted in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

In 1988 Petty founded the British-American supergroup The Travelling Wilburys consisting of George Harrison, Jeff Lynn, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan. The group won a Grammy in 1989 and released two albums in two years. The second album without Orbison though, since he passed away shortly after the release of the first one.

In 1989, Petty released his first solo album ‘Full Moon Fever’ which featured the hit singles Won't back Down, Free Fallin', Runnin' Down A Dream and a The Byrds' cover version, Feel A Whole Lot Better. The album was his breakthrough as a solo artist, reaching the top 3 of the American album charts and going platinum 5 times. His second solo album, Wildflowers, won him a second Grammy in 1994 and featured guest musicians such as ex-Beatles drummer Ringo Starr.

Petty often collaborated with big stars such as Stevie Nicks, with whom he recorded the hit single Stop Draggin' My Heart Around in 1981. Nicks would often join him on stage as well. Petty was also friends with Johnny Cash, who recruited the members of The Heartbreakers to record his album series, The American Recordings. Cash would also cover Petty's songs Southern Accents and I Won't Back Down.

Rolling Stone Magazine listed Petty as number 91 of the Top 100 'greatest musicians of all times’ and number 59 of the Top 100 ‘songwriters of all times’.

On October the 2nd 2017, Tom Petty died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Santa Monica. According to the forensic report, the painkillers Oxycodon and Fetanyl were found in his blood, which leads one to believe that Petty accidentally overdosed. By making the report public, his family hoped to draw attention to opioid abuse in America.